ISLAMABAD, Sept 25: The government has finalized arrangements to set up a coal gasification plant which will produce three million cubic feet (MMCF) of gas per day by consuming 250 tons of coal daily.

Sources said that the coal plant to be set up in Bhakkar, Punjab, would also produce 100 tons of coke per day as by- product.

The ministry of petroleum and natural resources is the sponsoring agency, while the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) is responsible for the execution of the gas plant.

The coal gas to be produced would be used as fuel for domestic and commercial use at a proposed plant by utilizing locally available coal with minimal environmental pollution. The plant would be the first one in the chain of coal gasification plants foreseen for future energy use in Pakistan.

The use of indigenous coal as a source of energy would help create new jobs in coal mines and plant operation. It would improve the quality of life and stimulate the economic growth, the sources said.

The estimated cost of the coal gasification plant was around Rs250 million and would produce gas by adopting the "vertical retort destructive distillation process".

The process involves a low cost plant for supply of gas to small towns situated in the vicinity from Makarwal and Salt range coal mines.

The government believed that the coal gas should be used as a source of energy where either gas high pressure infrastructure did not exists or its laying was cost prohibitive.

The comparative low costs involved in establishing a coal gas plant vis-a-vis the cost transmission pipeline laying, made the setting up of coal gasification plants feasible for providing gas to small towns situated remotely from gas pipeline network.

Presently small portion of coal potential is being harnessed for Quetta and Lakhra coal fired thermal power stations along with its wide utilization in brick klins. A large portion of the same is yet to be harnessed by exploiting indigenous source of energy in an environmentally friendly manner as has been desired by the World Bank.

The government, the sources said, was keen to utilize the indigenous energy resources to maximum possible extent in order to minimize oil imports and enhance the opportunity of local employment, and coal was an obvious choice.

The growing demand of gas due to non-availability of alternate fuel gas created pressure to supply gas to as many towns as possible.

At present share of coal in energy is less than 5 per cent and keeping in view its abundance it has been advised by the experts to exploit coal to partially offset the burden of imported energy.

Under the present socio-economic scenario of energy requirements there are compelling factors to maximize energy reliance on indigenous coal utilization which will also offset the ever increasing demand of natural gas.